Waiver Wire Targets 2016 Week 5

By Armando Marsal

The waiver wire can be your best friend in fantasy football. Especially in times like these where injuries are piling up and teams are on bye. That being said, let’s waste no more time and take a look at some players you may want to target on waivers.

Quarterback

Brian Hoyer – Bears: Hoyer has started for the Bears the last two games in place of the injured Jay Cutler. He has thrown over 300 yards in each of those games and four total touchdowns. He has not thrown an interception and got the Bears their first win of the season last week. Coach John Fox hinted that Hoyer could remain the starting quarterback even when Cutler returns, if he continues to play well. Cutler remains questionable for this week, so Hoyer could be in line for another start. The Bears play at Indianapolis next week which is a favorable matchup for Hoyer. Both Carson Palmer and Cam Newton suffered concussions in Week 4 and will have to go through the concussion protocol before being cleared to play. Hoyer makes a fine streaming play and could fill in if you have an injured quarterback or have one on bye.

Running Back

Jordan Howard- Bears: He is owned in 81 percent of ESPN leagues and should be 100 percent owned. If he is still available in your league, go get him. Howard came through in a big way in his first start of the season. He rushed for 111 yards and also caught three of his four targets for 21 yards. He has a favorable matchup against the Colts this week and should have a prominent role on this offense for the remainder of the season.

Terrance West – Ravens: West got the start ahead of Justin Forsett and made a case to have a bigger workload moving forward. He rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries in Week 4. This week he has a great matchup against the Redskins who are getting slashed on the ground. Opposing running backs are averaging 133 yards per game and have scored seven touchdowns against the Redskins. West may lose some touches to Kenneth Dixon at some point, but in the foreseeable future, he could carry the bulk of the work for the Ravens.

Bilal Powell - Jets: Powell has six receptions in each of the last two games. He has outperformed Matt Forte in each of those games. Powell is making a case for more work on this offense. He has seen an increase in snap counts in each of the last two weeks. Forte was seen carted to the X-Rays room this weekend, although it is unknown what is going on as far as his injury is concerned. Either way, Powell should continue to see a decent amount of work on this offense, with or without Forte being healthy.

Wide Receiver

Robert Woods – Bills: With Sammy Watkins sidelined, Woods will operate as the Bills No. 1 receiver. He has received 18 targets in the last two games and has caught 13 passes for 140 yards in that span. He has the Rams on deck who have surrendered over 270 receiving yards to receivers in each of their last two games. Watkins is eligible to return in Week 12, until then, Woods should see the majority of the targets on this offense.

Steve Smith – Ravens: Smith leads the Ravens in targets, receptions, and receiving yards. He has now been peppered with 11 targets in each of the last two games and accounts for 21.9 percent of the team’s targets. He is the Ravens receiver to own, so get him while you can.

Quincy Enunwa – Jets: Decker is expected to miss an extended amount of time with a shoulder injury. If that ends up being the case, Enunwa could see a bump in his role. He was the second highest targeted receiver in Week 4 behind Brandon Marshall. Enunwa has played in 81.4 percent of the offensive snaps this season. He accounts for 20.5 percent of the target share for the Jets and 16.7 percent of the red zone targets. Those numbers could see a boost with Decker sidelined. Lastly, he has scored double-digit fantasy points (PPR format) in all but one game this season.

Tight End

Kyle Rudolph – Vikings: Rudolph has scored a touchdown in three consecutive games. It is clear that he has established a strong rapport with quarterback Sam Bradford and these two should continue to connect on a regular basis. Rudolph is averaging 8.3 targets and 4.8 receptions per game. He accounts for 54.5 percent of the red zone targets and 25.8 of the Vikings target share. In a position that is very volatile, Rudolph provides steady production.